I’m a huge advocate for 2 things:
- using the most suitable methods to achieve your goals
- staying healthy in the process
When it comes to getting fit and healthy and really achieving a decent baseline of vitality, healthy body fat levels and simply looking vibrant, doing a couch to 5k or some other similar challenge as your first port of call is one of the worst approaches you can take.
Unless it’s fucking up your joints!!!!!!
You need to think about it with an unbiased mindset ad not let your preferences get in the way. I’ll try and do the same.
Here we go.
Couch to 5k’s are designed to get inactive, unfit and generally unhealthy individuals into the habit of exercise by getting off the couch and hitting the roads.
And that’s the problem. These untrained and out of shape people are in absolutely no position to start hitting the roads for 1 simple reason (well, maybe more).
Running is a skill and like any other skill it needs to be learned and this takes time. When you take an unfit individual and get them doing something that they can’t do you are exposing them to the negative effects of their poor techniques.
When the tasks involves landing on concrete and being met with 3+ times your bodyweight DURING EVERY SINGLE STRIDE YOU TAKE, those negative effects become very dangerous and can have a long lasting harmful impact on your joints.
In a well trained runner who has nailed his/her technique and has a solid strength and conditioning program supporting him/her, these negative effects are minimised.
However, in the untrained couch-to-5k jedi warrior who has no idea how to run, who’s lack of core strength is causing their pelvis, knees, low back and ankles to take the brunt of the force in very unnatural ways and who is more often than not overweight and/or severely de-conditioned, these negative effects are completely fed into.
Instead of running, these people PLOD their way through the set distance and PLODDING while inefficiently absorbing 3+ times your bodyweight with your joints is just so, so, so, so, so, sssssssss00000000000 bad for your health.
I’m not trying to be a spoil sport as I think it’s great that so many people are deciding to get fitter and healthier. What I am totally against is the method that they are using to do it usually being encouraged by uneducated people. There are much more effective ways to get to where you want to be especially when you are just starting out. And these other ways will set you up for much better and longer lasting results.
They’ll even set you up to be a better runner down the line.
So what are they?
Here are a few of them in no particular order:
- Get hydrated
- Remove the cost amount of processed food from your diet
- Start to strength train- bodyweight, barbells, kettbells, dumbells, etc.- they’re all good as long as you learn good technique
- Do non-impact cardio/conditioning where only 1 foot comes off the ground at any given time- bodyweight circuits, battling ropes, walking, mobility and core circuits, etc.
- Get 7-8 hours sleep every night
- Stop partying so much
If you haven’t exercised for a while and have finally decided to get fit and healthy, this needs to be your approach. You’ll get better results and will feel so much better than if you go out and start to pound the roads to soon.
You need to stop that shit and if any tells you differently………….
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